The best free media player for video and DVDs

Editor's Review

VLC is a renowned media player that works with most multimedia files and DVDs, audio CDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. VLC is so well respected that it’s the go to media player for downloads that won’t play in its commercial counterparts. It is also a compelling server that streams live and on-demand video, through both IPv4 and IPv6 protocols, on a high-bandwidth network. VLC’s versatility, advanced controls, and broad support for numerous file types make it a popular choice for media playback and conversion worldwide.

VLC at a Glance

It is easy to download and launch VLC. A simple two-part interface has several tree options on the left (Library, My Computer, Local Network, and Internet) and an expandable media display on the right. The default interface has a humble beginners appeal but more scrapy users will relish a mountain of menu controls and options. VLC can be set to one of over 60 languages, making it easily accessible worldwide. And VLC’s interface remains relatively consistent for users on diverse operating systems, requiring little adjustment.

Product Details

Hotkey options—VLC’s default view displays just a few of its many controls but within lies a full suite of custom hotkeys that make navigation a breeze. For example, you can set keys for the video aspect ratio, moving subtitle onscreen position, and changing subtitle delay. You can also use F1-F10 keys to bookmark your video and audio tracks. VLC also supports playback control using your mouse.

AV options—VLC comes armed with graphic equalizer, compressor, and spatializer to tweak audio playback. Basic video effects include filters for hue, contrast, and sharpen, while advanced options include video border crop, selective zoom, motion blur, and deinterlacing. There is also a view for metadata, AV codecs, and detailed statistics.

Additional options—You can set custom skins, toggle Dolby surround sound for headphones, engage in GPU-accelerated video decoding, and more. With over 150 options and a search function to navigate them, neophytes can aspire to manage VLC’s technical settings, while AV pros can simply relax.

Pros

Cons

VLC has a simple design, with menus and options for almost any function. It opens nearly every file type. VLC’s media playback runs smoothly and its interface is fairly consistent across operating systems.

VLC hides its fancy features behind an ordinary veneer so that only advanced users recognize them. However, its extensive Wiki help is good remedy for eager beginners.

Quick Specs

Screenshots

Description

VLC is an open source cross-platform multimedia player and framework, which plays most multimedia files, DVDs, Audio CDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. VLC media player is simple, fast, and powerful. It plays everything, files, discs, webcams, devices, and streams. VLC plays most codecs (MPEG-2, DivX, H.264, MKV, WebM, WMV, MP3, etc.) so no codec packs are needed. It runs on all platforms: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Unix, etc. And VLC is hassle free with no spyware, no ads, and no user tracking.